South Somerset (UK Parliament constituency)

South Somerset was a single-member (MP) county constituency in Somerset for the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. As all single-member seats, after the 1832 Great Reform, its elections were by first past the post voting.

South Somerset
Former County constituency for the House of Commons
1885–1918
Number of members	one
Replaced by	Yeovil
Created from	East Somerset and West Somerset

It was created under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 for the general election that year. The Act changed the county's representation to seven county and four borough seats, and abolished for the 1918 general election.

It's elections returned one Liberal, then another, covering its first 26 years; then returned a Conservative for its final seven years.

Boundaries

First form. Extract from 1906 result: this seat is the central zone (with the Tory blue West Dorset seat, south)

The Municipal Borough of Yeovil, the Sessional Divisions of Crewkerne and Yeovil, and part of the Sessional Division of Ilminster.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member	Party
	1885	Frederick Lambart, later 9th Earl of Cavan	Liberal
	1892	Edward Strachey, later ennobled[1]	Liberal
	1911 by-election	Aubrey Herbert[2]	Conservative
	1918	constituency abolished

Elections

Elections in the 1880s

General election 1885: South Somerset[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Frederick Lambart	4,534	58.1
	Conservative	John Wingfield-Digby	3,268	41.9
Majority			1,266	16.2
Turnout			7,802	83.5
Registered electors			9,349
	Liberal win (new seat)

Lambart was appointed Vice-Chamberlain of the Household, requiring a by-election.

By-election, 24 Feb 1886: South Somerset[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Frederick Lambart	Unopposed
	Liberal hold

General election 1886: South Somerset[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Frederick Lambart	3,739	51.6	−6.5
	Conservative	Sir Henry Machu Imbert-Terry, 1st Baronet	3,512	48.4	+6.5
Majority			227	3.2	−13.0
Turnout			7,251	77.6	−5.9
Registered electors			9,349
	Liberal hold		Swing	−6.5

Elections in the 1890s

Edward Strachey

General election 1892: South Somerset[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Edward Strachey	4,330	52.5	+0.9
	Conservative	Sir Henry Machu Imbert-Terry, 1st Baronet	3,925	47.5	-0.9
Majority			405	5.0	+1.8
Turnout			8,255	85.2	+7.6
Registered electors			9,693
	Liberal hold		Swing	+0.9

General election 1895: South Somerset[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Edward Strachey	4,167	52.1	−0.4
	Conservative	Henry Gribble Turner	3,827	47.9	+0.4
Majority			340	4.2	−0.8
Turnout			7,994	82.5	−2.7
Registered electors			9,692
	Liberal hold		Swing	−0.4

Elections in the 1900s

General election 1900: South Somerset[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Edward Strachey	4,349	54.2	+2.1
	Conservative	William Mason	3,671	45.8	-2.1
Majority			678	8.4	+4.2
Turnout			8,020	84.8	+2.3
Registered electors			9,462
	Liberal hold		Swing	+2.1

General election 1906: South Somerset[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Edward Strachey	5,164	61.4	+7.2
	Liberal Unionist	B Portman	3,247	38.6	−7.2
Majority			1,917	22.8	+14.4
Turnout			8,411	86.0	+1.2
Registered electors			9,778
	Liberal hold		Swing	+7.2

Elections in the 1910s

General election January 1910: South Somerset[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Edward Strachey	4,955	52.7	-8.7
	Conservative	Aubrey Herbert	4,444	47.3	+8.7
Majority			511	5.4	-17.4
Turnout			9,399	92.5	+6.5
Registered electors			10,164
	Liberal hold		Swing	-8.7

Aubrey Herbert

General election December 1910: South Somerset[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Edward Strachey	4,784	52.6	−0.1
	Conservative	Aubrey Herbert	4,317	47.4	+0.1
Majority			467	5.2	−0.2
Turnout			9,101	89.5	−3.0
Registered electors			10,164
	Liberal hold		Swing	−0.1

Henry Vivian

1911 South Somerset by-election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Aubrey Herbert	4,878	50.8	+3.4
	Lib-Lab	Henry Harvey Vivian	4,730	49.2	−3.4
Majority			148	1.6	N/A
Turnout			9,608	91.1	+1.6
Registered electors			10,546
	Conservative hold		Swing	+3.4

General Election 1914/15:

Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1915. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place and by July 1914, the following candidates had been selected;

• Unionist: Aubrey Herbert
• Liberal: Henry Harvey Vivian

References

1. "No. 28547". The London Gazette. 3 November 1911. p. 7952.
2. "British by-election: Unionist returned". Dominion. 24 November 1911. Retrieved 6 October 2012.
3. Craig, FWS, ed. (1974). British Parliamentary Election Results: 1885-1918. London: Macmillan Press. p. 381. ISBN 9781349022984.